Fording Canadian Coal Trust 2007 Third Quarter Earnings Results

Fording Canadian Coal Trust (TSX: FDG.UN) (NYSE: FDG) today announced its third quarter 2007 results. Cash available for distribution for the quarter was $61 million ($0.41 per unit) compared with $123 million ($0.83 per unit) in 2006. On a year-to-date basis, cash available for distribution was $274 million ($1.86 per unit), a decrease of $197 million ($1.35 per unit) from 2006.

Net income from continuing operations was $91 million in the third quarter compared with $123 million in 2006. Net income from continuing operations before unusual items, future income taxes and unrealized gains or losses on foreign exchange forward contracts was $83 million in the third quarter compared with $120 million in 2006 and primarily reflects lower coal prices for the 2007 coal year that commenced April 1, 2007. On a year-to-date basis, net income from continuing operations was $274 million for 2007 versus $428 million for 2006. Net income from continuing operations before unusual items, future income taxes and unrealized gains or losses on foreign exchange forward contracts was $282 million year-to-date versus $468 million in 2006, primarily due to lower coal prices.

"The financial and operating results of this quarter were in line with our expectations," said Boyd Payne, President, Fording Canadian Coal Trust. "Looking forward, the hard coking coal markets appear to be robust, however if the Canadian dollar remains at current levels, substantial increases in the 2008 U.S. dollar coal price will be required to avoid significant reductions in our margins."

Highlights:

- Cash available for distribution was $61 million for the quarter, or $0.41 per unit, down from $123 million, or $0.83 per unit in 2006. Distributions to unitholders for the quarter were $0.60 per unit compared with $0.80 per unit in 2006. The net proceeds from the sale of NYCO of $31 million, or $0.21 per unit, which were received late in the second quarter, were included in the third quarter distribution.

- The average realized coal price in the third quarter of 2007 was $97 per tonne (US$93), which was down from $124 per tonne (US$109) in 2006. On a year-to-date basis, the average realized coal price was $110 per tonne (US$99), which was down from $136 per tonne (US$115) in 2006. The decreases in average U.S. dollar prices reflect successive decreases in coal prices for the 2006 and 2007 coal years.

- The significant weakening of the U.S. dollar had a significant negative impact on the business of Elk Valley Coal during the quarter. This was mitigated somewhat since the Trust uses foreign exchange forward contracts to fix the rate at which its anticipated U.S. dollar cash flows are exchanged for Canadian dollars. Realized gains on the Trust's forward contracts contributed $25 million or $0.17 per unit to distributable cash for the quarter ($31 million or $0.21 per unit year-to-date). The Trust has outstanding forward contracts until March 31, 2008 and will become fully exposed to the weaker U.S. dollar on April 1, 2008.

- Coal sales volumes of 3.4 million tonnes for the third quarter were 4% lower than 2006 levels. On a year-to-date basis, coal sales volumes of 10.0 million tonnes were down slightly from 2006.

- Elk Valley Coal's unit cost of product sold decreased by 4% to $41.00 per tonne for the third quarter of 2007 compared with $42.60 per tonne in 2006. Year-to-date, the unit cost of product sold increased by 4% to $41.80 per tonne in 2007 compared with $40.20 per tonne in 2006.

- Elk Valley Coal's unit transportation costs were essentially unchanged at $35.80 per tonne for the third quarter of 2007 compared with $35.60 per tonne for the third quarter of 2006. On a year-to-date basis, unit transportation costs decreased by 3% to $35.90 per tonne compared with $36.90 per tonne in 2006.

- The union labour agreement at the Cardinal River operation, which had expired on June 30, 2007, was settled during the third quarter. The new agreement expires in 2012. With this settlement, all five of Elk Valley Coal's unionized mines are now covered by multi-year labour agreements, the first of which will expire in late 2009.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call to discuss these results will be held Tuesday, October 30 at 8:00 a.m. Mountain time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-866-542-4238 or 416-641-6127 approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. A live and archived audio webcast and podcast of the conference call will also be available on the Trust's website www.fording.ca .

About Fording Canadian Coal Trust

Fording Canadian Coal Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust and one of the largest royalty trusts in Canada. The Trust makes quarterly distributions to unitholders using royalties received from its 60% interest in the metallurgical coal operations of the Elk Valley Coal Partnership. The Elk Valley Coal Partnership is the world's second largest exporter of metallurgical coal, supplying high-quality coal products to the international steel industry. The Trust's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FDG.UN and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FDG.